As the personal computer (PC) moves to become the center of the digital home, it must simultaneously handle requests from an ever-increasing number of devices wishing to access media content (music, pictures, videos, TV, etc.) stored on the PC.
For example, a user can currently employ a PC as an entertainment server to deliver media and other content over a network to client devices such as desktop PCs, notebooks, portable computers, cellular telephones, other wireless communications devices, personal digital assistants (PDA), gaming consoles, IP set-top boxes, handheld PCs, and so on. Content capable of being delivered includes pictures, audio content, audio/video (AV) content, and computer readable programs which may be introduced to the entertainment server on portable storage media, such as CDs or DVDs, or via a tuner receiving the content from remote sources, such as the Internet, a cable connection, or a satellite feed.
Software, such as the WINDOWS XP® Media Center Edition operating system marketed by the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., has greatly reduced the effort and cost required to transform normal home PCs into hosts capable of delivering such content. At some point, however, the resources required to deliver content to the various devices requesting it may exceed the resources available on the PC. When this happens, unexpected and/or undesirable behavior may result in disruptions experienced on the PC and/or the device accessing the content from the PC.
Thus, there exists a need to enable a PC to function in a multi-user environment and to deliver content to a multitude of requesting devices without exceeding the resources available on the PC.